Chapter 179
Boom, boom, boom, boom.
“Hey! Come out! How long are you going to stay like that?”
Shiwoo had roughly knocked on the door of the hut. Inside, Yerang had shut herself in and had not come out since a few days ago.
It began right after she heard the news that Hwang Gyuseong had died.
Bang, bang, bang!
“If you don’t open up, I’ll really break in, got it? One, two…”
Once again, he hadn’t managed to count to three.
If he reached three, he would have to act on his threat to break down the door, and Yerang was not the kind to be consoled by such measures.
‘If I force my way in, she’ll just hide somewhere.’
Yerang was a specialist at stealth. If she truly decided to hide, finding her would be incredibly difficult.
It was better to let her keep herself confined in the hut.
“… Haa.”
He sighed deeply and sank to the ground. Leaning against the door, he grabbed his head with one hand, almost pulling at his hair.
It wasn’t just Yerang who was feeling guilty. Shiwoo felt the same way.
‘What an idiot…’
Creak.
Chasing after Hwang Gyuseong’s traces had been a mistake.
At some point, it was as if they had been lured into unknowingly backtracking through his past.
If Kim Ilsoo knew that Hwang Gyuseong and they were alive, then.
‘He did it on purpose.’
He became certain. It was all by Kim Ilsoo’s design that they trailed after Hwang Gyuseong’s past, that Hwang Gyuseong died when they were the furthest from each other. It was all orchestrated by Kim Ilsoo.
They had been deceived again. And once more, the cost was a friend’s life.
What made him angrier was that even in their current situation, they could do nothing.
“I’ll be the bait.”
Among the four, Hyomin was in the relatively best condition.
The other three barely kept their consciousness, incapable of fighting and hardly able to walk.
No.
Their injuries were so severe that they weren’t sure if they could survive even if they escaped immediately.
Hyomin made a decision.
She would stay behind.
“Bait?”
“You know. We can’t escape like this. One of us has to stay back.”
“You’re going to die for us?”
Yerang reacted the most fiercely.
“I’m not planning to die. I’ll find a way…”
“Shut up!”
They were the closest of friends. Yerang relied on Hyomin, and Hyomin relied on Yerang more than anyone else.
“I’ll stay instead. Let me stay…”
“No way.”
“Why not!”
“You’re not the type to draw attention. It’s rather the opposite. And physically, I’m in the best shape among us.”
Recalling the situation, Shiwoo gritted his teeth. Unlike Yerang, he couldn’t step forward.
He had thought that everything Hyomin said was correct. The task of being the bait could only be done by Hyomin, who was in the best shape at the time.
But,
‘Was it something I couldn’t have done?’
He had asked himself that question hundreds, thousands of times since then.
Did it really have to be Hyomin who stayed behind that day? Was there any reason it couldn’t have been him?
“No! No one is going! Please, let’s all stay together—”
Hyomin struck Yerang’s abdomen as she screamed, almost in a fit.
By harshly cutting off her consciousness, Hyomin conveyed her resolve.
“Everyone, survive.”
Hyomin had fought off the pursuers trailing them.
Using the time Hyomin bought, the rest ran again. Even injured, Hwang Gyuseong carried Yerang. He was stronger even in his hurt state.
Only a few minutes.
That was all it took before they heard a sound from behind.
“What a remarkable display of friendship.”
It was the voice of Kim Ilsoo.
He had called out from afar. Not knowing where they were, he spoke in a voice loud enough to shake the ground.
“Saving your friends with your own life. Truly brings tears. Impressive.”
Was he mocking? Given the past experiences with Kim Ilsoo, he thought there might be a hint of sincerity.
“But kids, I won’t kill Hyomin.”
In an instant, the running feet stopped. A mix of relief and anxiety swept over at the words that she wouldn’t die.
“You are all as good as dead from today. It has to be. If you reveal yourself to the world again and try to uncover the truth of today…”
Shiwoo, recalling Kim Ilsoo’s words, closed his eyes tightly.
“Hyomin dies.”
That statement was a shackle. From then on, they couldn’t do anything. If it weren’t for Hyomin, they all would have died, but because she was captured, they couldn’t reveal the truth to anyone.
If they showed themselves to the world again and told the truth of that day…
Then, Hyomin, who threw herself to save them, would die.
“Damn it…”
***
Yerang was lying under a blanket inside the cabin.
Shiwoo’s voice, which had been heard from outside, disappeared. It was already the umpteenth time, but she didn’t go out.
Her eyes were swollen. So much so that there was no need to confirm it with a mirror.
She didn’t want to show such a face.
‘I thought we’d be able to gather again….’
Hwang Gyuseong. Kim Shiwoo. Lee Hyomin. And Yerang herself.
She imagined the scene of the four of them gathering and chattering. Just imagining it made her heart warm and feel soft.
But now, it was an unattainable dream. It painfully saddened her.
Buzz—.
At that moment, the kit in her pocket buzzed. Simultaneously, she felt the same vibration from outside.
Yerang and Shiwoo. The kits of the two were receiving the same alarm at the same time.
『”Lee Suhyuk” has started a stream.』
When she checked the kit, a familiar name popped up.
Lee Suhyuk.
A streamer who looked strikingly similar to her friend.
“He’s streaming even in this situation.”
Yerang muttered and, for the first time since Hwang Gyuseong’s death, let out a small chuckle.
She thought inadvertently. If this guy were really Lee Suhyuk, there’s no way he’d be leisurely streaming.
She realized she had thought the same every time she watched his stream.
If it were Lee Suhyuk, he would do this. If it were Lee Suhyuk, he would do that. Oh, this is just like Lee Suhyuk.
It was the most fun to have such thoughts.
Sometimes, she felt as if it really was their friend Lee Suhyuk streaming, and her heart would swell enormously.
As if possessed by something, she entered the stream.
“I am a bit tired. Haven’t stopped because of the preparations for the Counter-Fight. But as a result….”
He had just started the stream and was still chatting with the viewers. The stream was no different from usual. Awkward speech and flow compared to his popularity. It made sense why she thought Lee Suhyuk might be the one streaming.
But…
‘His eyes… are different.’
The eyes exposed through the mask seemed somewhat different from usual.
What was the difference? She didn’t know. She usually prided herself on her sharp observation, but this was such a small difference it couldn’t be put into words.
After pondering for a moment, Yerang began to move her fingers.
Shiwoo might nag if he found out…
Tap, tap, tap—
『Hello. I enjoy watching your stream….』
Right now, she just wanted to have a little conversation with this guy.
* * *
He felt a sensation like electricity running through his body. The rise in skill level always came with a thrilling feeling. Especially, the more significant the difference, the more intense the feeling.
This time, the shock was substantial. The awareness of the skill imprinted in his senses indicated a definite difference. The skills at level 8 and level 9 made the substantial investment of 1.28 million points worthwhile.
Of course,
『Remaining Points: 839,198』
# Necessary Points: 2,560,000p
The problem was that the next step became steeper with each climb.
– Why are you silent?
– Buffering.
– Did you lose your words at so many points?
It was understandable that Lee Suhyuk was speechless, having received over two million points in an instant. In reality, he had just upgraded his skill levels and was immersed in the lingering emotion, but to the viewers, it appeared differently.
“Oh, yes. Thank you all so much. I should at least do something for your reactions…”
As Suhyuk pondered momentarily, donations flooded in.
『’Bbakain’ donated 100 points.』
『”Bbakain?”』
“Bbakain? What is Bbakain?”
– There is a dance called Bald Suhyuk’s dance, LOL
– If you don’t know, search it, go go
– Come on, it’s 100 million points; you should at least do this~
Curious about the dance, Suhyuk searched ‘Bbakain’ in his kit. There, he saw a masked version of himself, Bald Suhyuk, dancing to strange music.
Bbakain~ Bald, bbakain, in…
Thud-.
The screen turned off before even passing the intro.
“I’ll just show you a better side of me.”
– LOL
– King of dodging, belly laugh~~
– How much would it take for him to dance
– Breaking news: Lee Suhyuk, will repay with a better side…
Originally, Suhyuk’s stream wasn’t known for reactions or comedic elements. Reactions were just an optional bonus in his streams.
Just as he was about to end the communication with the viewers, another message dropped in.
『’q1w2e3r4′ donated 10,000 points.』
『”Hello. I enjoy watching your stream. You seem less cheerful than usual today. Is something wrong?”』
10,000 points—a sizable donation. However, the nickname was slightly odd compared to other viewers.
– Default nick level ㅎㄷㄷ;
– Just drops 10,000 points without changing the nickname~
– Sniff sniff. Smells like a big spender.
A default nickname. It meant the original, unaltered nickname assigned in the Players’ stream channel—a random string of characters with no meaning.
Most donors crafted unique names to stand out, but this viewer didn’t seem to care.
“Uh… Thank you for the 10,000 points. An issue?”
What should he say?
Given the large amount, he wanted to answer sincerely, but no appropriate response came to mind.
‘Did they notice?’
He thought he had hidden it well. He had composed himself over five days, thinking his emotions might show during a stream watched by potentially over a hundred thousand people.
He started streaming when he felt confident he could present his usual self to the viewers.
‘What should I say?’
He couldn’t simply say, “Because Hwang Gyuseong died.”
At the moment, he was labeled a traitor to Blue Eyes, and this stream was likely being monitored by Blue Zone.
Luckily, other viewers seemed unaware as he scanned the chat.
Not assigning too much significance to a simple question, Suhyuk replied calmly.
“There wasn’t anything special. Thank you for asking.”
『’q1w2e3r4′ donated 1,000 points.』
『”Oh, that’s a relief.”』
『’q1w2e3r4′ donated 1,000 points.』
『”Could I ask one more thing, if you don’t mind?”』
– 1,000 points per question ㄷㄷ;
– Big spender gone crazy.
– Does he donate like chatting?
– Keep asking him.
A thousand points per donation—nothing to sneeze at—continued to pour in. Whatever the question, there was no reason to refuse.
“Yes, feel free.”
『’q1w2e3r4′ donated 1,000 points.』
『”Are you thinking about entering Blue Zone?”』
At that question, Suhyuk’s eyes turned cold.